The End

Last week I finished my finals. Taking exams here was a completely different process than I'm used to at Grinnell. For exams, all students went to this massive building off campus, the Royal Exhibition Hall. If you look back all the way at my first post, it's the building behind the fountain in Carlton Gardens. The Hall was set up with about 2500 desks, and each time I went for a final, there were probably at least four different classes taking exams at the same time. It was incredibly overwhelming just trying to find my seat and focus on my exams.The best thing I can compare it to is when in Harry Potter they take their OWLs. Just masses of students at desks in rows scribbling furiously for hours. Also, the building is pretty old and there wasn't any heat, so that just added to the fun. Both exams I took were definitely an interesting experience, but one I'm glad I won't have to repeat any time soon.

I was glad to finish so early and have a chance to enjoy my last week in Melbourne. Saturday was an Australian friend's birthday, so it was nice to celebrate that and also being done with the school year. On Sunday, I made my last trip to the market, which I commemorated with the American style donuts they sell, so delicious! The market is one of the things I'm going to miss most when I'm home, especially since it was so close. Getting the hang of shopping at the market definitely made me feel like a true Melburnian.

While I spent a lot of the week packing and getting my things organized, I made time to walk around parts of the city and really soak it in. Wednesday I wandered through Melbourne's laneways and ate breakfast at a cafe, a very typical Melbourne thing to do, and yesterday I returned to Fitzroy for lunch and a little window shopping. Today Maddie and I are going for one last Tropicana Juice together, another place I'll seriously miss.

It's just impossible for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm leaving. I've had friends leave, but until I actually move out and fly to Sydney tomorrow, I don't think it will hit me. My semester has been truly wonderful, I have loved living in Melbourne and experiencing Australia. I'm thrilled to have more time to see other parts of the country with my parents, but I'm also very excited to return to Melbourne at the end of our trip and show them around. And at the end of it all, I'm very ready to come home to the States. Let's be honest, I am seriously craving some Chipotle.

I'll potentially post some while I'm traveling over the next two weeks, but this is really my last post as a study abroad student. I've enjoyed sharing my experiences on this blog and I hope you enjoyed hearing about them. Thanks for reading!

The Beginning of the End

Beautiful Crown Casino

It's hard to believe I only have two more weeks in Melbourne before I meet my parents in Sydney. Time seriously flew! I've been in Australia for a little more than four months, but I can hardly believe it's all coming to an end. I feel really lucky that I get to travel a little more with my parents before I have to come home. Even though I only have two weeks left in Melbourne, I still have another month in Australia! What is especially strange is that, as people are finishing finals, they're starting to head home, both kids going back to America and Australians moving home for their winter break. The village I live in will be pretty deserted by the time I head out.

At the slots

One of my closest friends here, Rachel, left on Thursday to start her internship at home. Of course that meant Wednesday night we had to celebrate her last night in Australia. So what do you do for your last night in Melbourne? Go to the casino, of course! The giant Crown Casino complex is on the south side of the Yarra, and the flashing logo is visible from most places in the CBD. None of us had ventured in, so we decided we must go before Rachel left. The casino is in the Vegas line of casino/entertainment complexes, with restaurants, clubs, a movie theater, along with plenty of opportunities to blow your money. Maddie, Rachel, and I all played the slots once, and I was the big winner, taking home 90 cents in winnings. Afterward we went to one of the clubs, where the most fabulous 80s cover band, Stand and Deliver, was performing. They were seriously amazing, and they had the most fabulous outfits on. It was an appropriate send off.

Esplanade at St. Kilda Beach

It is finals time here, and I've already handed in two essays. I have two more exams and then I'm finished! But it also means that I have tons of free time to go anywhere/see anything I still want to see. And Melbourne has been quite obliging, providing beautiful sunny day after beautiful sunny day. Thursday I met a friend for lunch at a restaurant I've been meaning to try all semester across the street from Uni, and we got to eat outside. And Friday Maddie and I went to St. Kilda, the beach suburb of Melbourne. The last time I went was all the way back in February during orientation, and I had meant to go again. It was a beautiful afternoon to window shop, enjoy the bakeries St. Kilda is known for (I had a slice of apricot cheesecake, yum), and watch the sun go down over the beach.

Although the end is drawing near, it's been quite a motivator to get out and do stuff while I still have time. I might even be going on another trip, potentially to the west coast to Perth. I'll keep you all posted!

Kiwis, Campervans, and 2288 Kilometers: A Week in New Zealand

The blue balloons are all the places we stopped for the night

One of the things I knew I wanted to do while I was studying in Australia was get to New Zealand. The flight between Melbourne and Christchurch is so short, when would I ever have such an opportunity? Ever since watching the Lord of the Rings movies, I’ve wanted to visit New Zealand, and last week I finally made it.

New Zealand is one of the most geographically and ecologically diverse countries I have ever been to. Even considering all the territory we covered in our six days, we barely scratched the surface of what New Zealand has to offer. But we did see a lot. I went with two friends, Maddie and Colin, and we rented a campervan (the way to travel easily and on the cheap) to drive around the South Island. Driving was the best option for us to make the most of our time there, and luckily New Zealand is campervan-friendly. Besides the first night, we were able to plug in to a power site, allowing us to turn on a space heater (it got pretty chilly at night), make our dinner in our tiny kitchen, and convert the van into bunked beds to sleep at night. It was cramped quarters, but an interesting way to see the country. Driving in New Zealand is pretty straightforward; there are few roads so directions were simple, though some drives were less direct than they could be. Those yellow lines on the map? Literally the only paved roads we could take. At least we never got lost!

First chilly dinner in the van

View in Arthur's Pass National Park

We flew into Christchurch last Saturday and immediately drove west to Arthur’s Pass National Park. Unfortunately the whole drive was at night (my baptism by fire), because we were driving through mountain ranges. After a chilly night (no power in the park, so no heater), we woke up Sunday morning and were immediately confronted with the beauty of our surroundings. That day we went on a long hike that gave us beautiful views of the Southern Alps. The terrain was very reminiscent of scenes of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli running across Middle Earth. I think we all felt a little transported. That night we drove out of the park and slept in Hokitika, en route to glaciers!

Near the top of the hike

Our van parked in front of some beautiful mountains

On the Western coast of New Zealand are two of the most accessible glaciers, Fox and Franz Josef. We booked half-day hikes on Fox and walking on a glacier was honestly one of the most amazing experiences. We went in the afternoon and so had beautiful views of the sun setting through the glacial valley. The tour was very cool; our guide was an ex-pat from Texas and spent most of the walk carving out our path.

Terminal face of Fox Glacier

In an ice cave at Fox Glacier

The sunset in the glacial valley

Queenstown Harbor

Tuesday we left the holiday park in Haast and drove through Mount Aspiring National Park, stopping for short walks off the road. Our end goal for the day was Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand and home to bungy jumping. I briefly considered doing something wild and crazy, but ended up cheaping out (and just not having enough time). Maddie and I treated ourselves to dinner in town, as we were both getting sick of pasta. Queenstown is pretty but very touristy, it reminded me a lot of Jackson Hole and similar towns like that in the states. It was a bit odd being there in the off season, as the streets were pretty empty.

Blue glacial pools in Mt. Aspiring Park

Me and Maddie at Haast Pass in Mt. Aspiring Park

A herd of cows on the road, passing our van

The next day, we drove into Fiordland National Park (misspelled by accident, but the name stuck), heading towards Milford Sound. Fiordland is the Yellowstone of the South Island and can get crazy in summer, but being there in the off season definitely paid off. The drive into the settlement of Milford was a little treacherous and the road is often closed, but we had good luck with weather and luckily our little van managed to chug over the mountains.

Tunnel in the mountain

Maddie and I at a lookout in Fiordland

To fully experience Milford Sound (actually a fjord, clearly New Zealand really struggled with names in this park), Maddie and I went on a kayak trip. It was truly breathtaking. Our guide had to keep putting things in the sound to scale, as everything is so massive you can easily lose perspective. We got amazingly lucky and saw dolphins, though they were too far away to photograph. Another amazing experience.

View of the sound at the start of the trip

The sound, with kayakers

Very old church in Dunedin

We left Milford that evening and began the journey up the east coast to Christchurch. We stopped that night in Dunedin and spent the next morning walking around the city. You can really feel the Scottish traces left over from the settlement. And then we made haste back to Christchurch to return the van before 4pm on Friday. Unfortunately the city is still rebuilding itself and the city center, the most affected area, had significant areas blocked off due to the earthquake damage. As it was our last night, we had a low key dinner and slept in a hotel (having a bed was a beautiful thing).

And then this morning we hauled ourselves out of bed at 3:30am for a 6am flight back to Melbourne. I’m sitting here exhausted but completely content. The trip could not have gone smoother. We had perfect weather, though a little chilly, no travel trouble, and I got to see a part of the world I had never been to before.

Unfortunately I’ve come back to the mountain of finals work I neglected last week (technically a study week, oops). I’m nearing the end of my stay in Melbourne, but am excited to meet my parents in Sydney in three weeks. More updates as they come!

Trivia Tuesdays

Every Tuesday night, a few friends and I go to a pub for trivia night. Pub trivia nights are pretty popular in Melbourne, and we sort of stumbled into one at this great local one, The Drunken Poet. It’s this little Irish place across from the Queen Vic Market and attracts an older Irish crowd, which is kind of hilarious in Melbourne. It’s got dark wood and portraits of famous Irishmen interspersed with posters for Guinness. The bartender, Siobhan, is such a sweetheart too. She knows us now, because we’re literally there every Tuesday. She also has the greatest Irish accent ever, it’s awesome.

So trivia consists of six categories: geography, science and nature, movies and television, music, and two general knowledge rounds. Difficulty seriously varies week to week. There are also two bonus rounds, one is matching dates and another is a sheet of eight images you have to name. For the bonus rounds, if you get the sheet up to the front first you either get a special prize or a bonus point, so it gets a little hectic. We take our trivia very seriously. We have yet to come in first, but we have placed second a few times. For being one of the youngest teams, we hold our own.

Honestly, it’s one of the things about Melbourne I’ll miss the most. I’ve been going with friends since almost the beginning, and since starting I haven’t missed a week. It’s just a great way to break up the week and blow off a little steam.

Melbourne sunset from my balcony

In other news, I’ve just been working to finish assignments. It’s the last week of classes, so there’s a lot to wrap up. The weather has actually been beautiful lately, which is good but also bad when I have so much to do. If winter in Melbourne means upper 50s, lower 60s and sunny days, I think I can handle these next few weeks.

Saturday I’m off to New Zealand! I can’t wait, I think it’s going to be an amazing trip.

Updates and More Tasmania Stuff

So I've officially been in Australia for three months. Time is flying, but luckily I still have another two months to go! I was talking to my roommate, and she's getting home exactly a year after she left. I can't imagine being gone that long, five months seems like a lot.

This week was pretty slow for me. Getting back from Tasmania, I was instantly hit with a bad cold, so I spent most of the week sleeping and catching up on school work. It's a little weird for me, since I only have three more weeks of class, but I'm still in Australia for another three months. Part of the reason is that University of Melbourne holds exams over three weeks rather than the single week I'm used to at home. Don't ask me why, it seems a little excessive to me. Luckily I'll be finding out my exam schedule tomorrow (again, I don't know why it took so long to post the schedule, this school is a little unorganized I think), and hopefully I'll be able to do more traveling then.

On Thursday, we did have a mini Cinco de Mayo celebration. One of my friends here, Maddie, is half Mexican and she insisted on cooking a feast for us (not that any of us were protesting). It's one of the weird things here, Mexican food is hard to come by. I know geographically that makes sense, but I'm used to such good options at home. At this point I would kill for a Chipotle burrito bowl. But anyway, Maddie made us delicious guacamole and homemade salsa, and chicken tacos with two sauces on homemade tortillas. We also splurged and made margaritas. One of our Australian friends came and we had to explain the whole holiday to her since it is definitely not celebrated much in Australia (except by us Americans). Overall, it was a very fun night.

I'm getting really excited about New Zealand, the planning phase has definitely begun. If anybody at home has any suggestions, I'd appreciate them greatly! Unfortunately we're sticking to the South Island so I probably won't get to see them filming The Hobbit (Wellington, the main town they're working out of, is on the North Island). But we're leaving in one day less than three weeks! Time is flying!

I have a few pics from Tasmania that I've stolen from friends that I wanted to add, just to show some of the stuff we did on the trip I didn't get to document:

At Laser Skirmish. See how intense it was? There was even a German flag on my uniform

Group skirmish pic

Jet boating. We had to wear very silly waterproof outfits

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in my life and happy birthday to my big sister! Hopefully Spring has finally come to the states, it's definitely Fall here (I'm writing this curled up in my comforter).

Easter Break in Tasmania!

The past week has been Easter break (I keep wanting to call it spring break, which is clearly incorrect), and for five days I was in Tasmania. The trip was organized by IES, the study abroad program I’m here with. It was an amazing few days! I had no idea what to expect, but Tasmania is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The air and water are really clean (the Australian Green party was founded in Tasmania, and it’s clear the state is much more environmentally friendly than other parts of Australia), and there was so much natural beauty. It was a good change, getting out of the city and into the wilderness.

Wombat at the zoo!

Tassie Devils feeding

Last Tuesday, the group, thirteen students and two group leaders, left Melbourne bright and early and landed in Launceston. First up was visiting the Tasmanian Zoo. We got to see Tasmanian Devils being fed. Although they’re cute little creatures, they were ripping the meat apart pretty viciously. At the zoo, we also did this four-wheel drive adventure. It was kind of like the Indiana Jones ride except in real life. We were in this completely open vehicle going through bushland, up and down hills and through puddles and streams. It was so muddy! And unfortunately when we were going up one huge hill, our vehicle had some issues. We had to climb down the hill barefoot (because our shoes would have been completely trashed) to meet it and complete the ride. Getting back on the bus after that, I discovered a leech on my foot from the walk down! Yuck! Afterwards, we had very fancy lunch at a winery (even though we were all a little dirty and smelly after the ride). It was beautiful, with the vines on a hill overlooking a lake. Plus the food and wine were delicious (Dad, the winery was called Ninth Island, and I had the pinot with my lunch). We drove two hours and checked into our accommodation for the night, Iluka Cabins. Needless to say, after the first day we were all ready for some sleep.

The winery, with Maddie and Jamie

View of Coles Bay during the hike

Wednesday we left Iluka and drove to Freycinet National Park. We hiked up and over a hill to get to Wineglass Bay, a truly picturesque beach. Although the hike was straight uphill and then downhill both there and back, it was worth it to have lunch on the beach of this remote bay. The only way to get there is by hiking or by boat, so the area is very unspoiled by humans. That afternoon we stopped at Kate’s Berry Farm for scones (Australians pronounce scone like it rhymes with con) and jam, all made fresh on the property. That night we went on the Port Arthur ghost tour. Port Arthur was one of the biggest prison colonies, and was renowned for being a hell on earth. During the tour we heard some pretty spooky stories of supernatural occurrences, though I didn’t experience anything myself.

Wineglass Bay

On the beach

Scones and jam with the group

Dolomite cliffs

Thursday we left bright and early for a boat tour of the Tasmanian coastline. The dolomite cliffs were really impressive, and we got to see tons of seals lounging on rocks! It was a very cool experience. After lunch (fish and chips cones, delicious), we were off to Richmond for the night. Richmond is a beautiful little town, with some of the oldest structures in Australia. That night, we saw the Grannie Rhodes show. The bed and breakfast we were staying at is run by a woman who restored a house from the 1800s and puts on a one-woman historical show about the woman who used to live there. The woman, Miriam, is clearly incredibly passionate about the show and did an amazing amount of research and restoration. The show itself, though, was a little goofy.

 

Seals lounging!

The oldest bridge in Australia (in Richmond)

Our b & b was very cute

Some "art" at MONA

 We left Richmond Friday morning and were off to Hobart. We went jet boating in the morning, which was very fun. Basically we went very fast down the river and over some rapids, which was fun, and our boat driver also did some 360 degree turns. After that we went to MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art. The museum just opened in January, so it was basically brand new. The art in there was kind of crazy! It was all super-contemporary and provocative. I don’t know if I liked it all, but it was really interesting to go spend some time there. That afternoon, we got to do a beer tasting at Cascade Brewery, a local beer in Tasmania. They paired six beers with little nibbles of food, and it was a lot of fun. The gardens at Cascade were beautiful, too. That night, we watched the royal wedding (of course) in a pub, and then the group participated in some karaoke for the last night together.

Beer tasting, with Justin and Jamie

Justin, Maddie, and Jamie enjoying lunch at Salamanca Markets

 Saturday morning, we were off to Tassie Laser Skirmish. Essentially it was more intense laser tag, with camo uniforms and all outside. I’m still a little sore from crouching behind bushes. When that was finished, we went back into Hobart for some free time to explore. We ate lunch at the Salamanca Market, all set up outside in front of old buildings and next to the harbor. After free time, it was off to the airport to return to Melbourne. It was a little sad to return, but after all we did I was exhausted and ready to slow down a little.

Hobart wharf

Top view of Salamanca Markets

The trip was so much fun. Good food (that I didn’t have to make), fun people, and beautiful surroundings. Going has made me so excited for more travel. Next planned trip: New Zealand on May 28^th!

Finally Have Orientation Pics!

It's midterm time here, which means I don't have a lot to report. This weekend I spent both Friday and Saturday at the State Library researching and writing papers. Writing this blog post is actually a way for me to procrastinate finishing another paper. The good news is Friday is the first day of my Easter break and in a week from today I'm off to Tasmania for 5 days. So there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Luckily for me (and you as readers of my blog), I still have things to share! One of the leaders from my program, Chay, finally put pictures up from orientation! If you'll remember all those weeks ago, when I wrote about surfing and kayaking, I promised some pics. I went through all 1000 pictures he had up (yes, that many) to find ones of me, which was slightly difficult when there are 32 kids in the water with surfboards and wetsuits. Bear with me on it, for some you may have to just take my word that it's me.

Platform at Bells Beach

The whole group in the water, Apollo Bay

That's me with my face turned away

I had to double check the wetsuit, but that's me in the background, first from the right! Look at me paddle

Listening to kayaking instructions with Courtney

Off we go!

Kayaking beach

It's hard to tell in this small version, but I look sooooooo much like my mom here... I'm second from the right

A Little Footy and Some Wildlife

Our view of the field, the teams warming up

After returning from Sydney, I ended up laying low for about a week and a half, but this weekend I participated in some quintessentially Melbourne/Australian activities.

Deep in Collingwood territory (their colors are black and white)

Friday night I went to my first Australian rules football game, or footy as it is affectionately called. Footy is huge in Melbourne, so my friends and I decided it was high time for us to go watch a live match. Inadvertently, we ended up going to one of the biggest games all season, between the Collingwood Magpies and Carlton Blues. The two teams have a huge rivalry and are currently seeded first and second in the league. Because of that, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was packed. Usually you can buy general admission tickets the day of and be able to sit in the general section, but we ended up in standing room only. Luckily, we found a less-crowded standing area with a very nice Australian man to explain some of the nuances of the game.

After watching one full game live, I definitely could get into this sport. It's a fast paced sport, and the players end up running and playing the full two hours (in 30 minute quarters). It is a contact sport, so there were plenty of exciting tackles. Mostly I was incredibly impressed with the endurance of the players. It looked exhausting! I won't attempt to explain the rules here, I'm still trying to get my arms around it, but here's the Wikipedia article if you'd like more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football. Footy is taken very seriously in Melbourne, and the fans around us were completely die-hard. I ended up supporting Collingwood, mostly because we were surrounded by Collingwood fans that would not have responded kindly to Carlton supporters. With student concession, tickets were a very reasonable $13.30, so I will definitely be going back!

Reclining roos

Today a few friends and I went to Ballarat, a historic gold-mining town about an hour and a half from Melbourne by train. The first thing on our list to visit was the Ballarat wildlife park, which was definitely worth the trip. There were tons of kangaroos just hopping around the whole park, coming up expectantly for food (we were too cheap to buy any, so we disappointed a lot of roos). They were very cute and so tame, it was awesome to get so close! Kangaroos in the wild can be pretty vicious, but these guys were very people-friendly.

Maddie and a roo contemplating each other

Unfortunately, after that the weather turned rainy. A lot of the attractions in Ballarat are outdoors, so we ended up not getting to do a lot else. There was actually a nice art gallery that discussed the Eureka uprising, when miners in Ballarat rioted against the British imposing taxes (I think that's the gist of it). We hopped back on the train and returned home to Melbourne.

Joey in a pouch!!!

Only two school weeks and then it's Easter Break and Tassie! It's very weird that I've already been here for two months. I feel like time is going so quickly! School is definitely starting to pick up, I have midterm-equivalent work due about now, so I might not have a lot of excitement for a bit. Hopefully I'll have good updates soon!